First, of course, is this reminder. Our season wrap-up Live Chat is at noon today. Bring your questions, comments, etc. Be there. No excuses accepted. Or else.

Second, if you sent Sally a pre-playoff beard picture, she now needs your “after” photo. And you don’t want Sally mad at you. Trust me on that.

Third, thank you for being such nuts about your team. Our numbers in April and May were off the charts (especially when compared to last April and May, for obvious reasons). Much appreciated.

We’ll have a separate game thread for each of the remaining games of the Stanley Cup finals. And I know you guys probably don’t want to hear this, but I expect the series to be 1-1 after Game 2 tomorrow. Oh, and thanks NBC, for the travel day between Games 1 and 2. What? Nobody traveled?

******************************************

On hockey, I suggested yesterday that the NHL wouldn’t even look at the Dainius Zubrus elbow in Game 1. I was wrong. The NHL did look at it, and a few other hits, in Game 1. Brendan Shanahan’s group actually does review loads of hits from every game, all the time. Then they deem if it needs a hearing and perhaps further discipline. So I was wrong, and I apologize.

That said, maybe I’m being too simplistic, but if the NHL wants to get rid of, say, elbows to the head, then all elbows to the head should be punished with suspensions. Plain as that. If that happened from opening night, by now there would not still be elbows to the head occurring. And to me, the Zubrus elbow is the exact same thing as the Brandon Prust elbow that got him one game, and the Carl Hagelin elbow that got him three, and the Zubrus elbow and the J.P. Parise Jr. elbow that got nothing in the ECF (not to mention the Chris Neil shoulder or the Alex Ovechkin leaping shoulder). Want to get rid of head shots? It’s not that difficult.

******************************************

Also, the Torts Media Tour continues Monday, when Bob Costas interviews John Tortorella on his NBC show after Game 3 of the finals. Rex Ryan of the three-time defending Super Bowl champion Jets will also be interviewed on the show.

******************************************

A thought on Nicklas Lidstrom’s retirement. [1]Of course, what you say and think about the guy is class, excellence, grace, a champion and a gentleman in every sense, automatic Hall of Famer, one of the greatest to ever play the position, etc. I’ve often said, if you switched Brian Leetch and Lidstrom, put Leetch in Detroit and Lidstrom on the Rangers, maybe Leetch wins more Norris Trophies, and that’s not taking anything at all away from Lidstrom. Leetch was a victim of the haphazard way the Rangers played hockey most of his career, but I think Leetch was a slightly smaller version of Lidstrom — virtually the same player.

Sadly, when I think of Lidstrom, too, one of the first things that pops into my head is Sid the Skid Crosby snubbing him in the Stanley Cup finals handshake line, captain snubbing captain. And part of why I really never liked the Skid.